Railway spike



J. HARTLEY.

RAILWAY SPIKE. APPLICATION FILED MAY 3. I921.

Patented Aug. 8, 1922..

STATES Parser clerics.

RAILWAY sr xn.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Auge 8, 1922.

Application filed May 3, 1921. Serial No. 466,416.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, JAMES HARTLEY, a citizen of the United States,residing at Philadelphia, in the county of Philadelphia and State ofPennsylvania, have invented new and useful Improvements in RailwaySpikes, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to a new and useful improvement in railway spikes,and has for its object to provide an exceedingly simple and effectivedevice of this character which will have a greater bearing surface uponthe base of the rail and one which will have in combination therewith, awire holder, this being so placed as to assist in holding the spikeagainst displacement.

Another object of the invention is to provide the shanks. ofthe spikewith a number of notches which slant outward and upward to permit thespike to be readily placed in the tie, and when in the tie will so embeditself in the wood as to prevent accidental withdrawal.

A still further object of the invention is to produce a spike having anumber of shanks parallel with one another, thus giving a firmer hold tothe spike when in the tie.

In order that those skilled in the art to which this inventionappertains, may underwhich stand how to make and use the same, I willdescribe its construction in detail, referring by numerals to theaccompanying drawing forming a part of this application, in

1 tie.

Fig. 2, is a fragmentary side elevation of another formation of wireholder.

Fig. 3, is an enlarged perspective view of the spike.

In carrying out my invention as here embodied, A represents a tie, and Bthe rail mounted thereon, said rail being held in place by the spikesone of which is here shown and lettered This spike comprises a pluralityof shanks D, the lower ends of which are sharpened as at E, and a head Fhavnig a rear extension Gprovided with a hole In the shanks D are formeda number of notches I, which may be single or in pairs, each of thesenotches extending downward and inward, producing relatively sharp edgesJ, which bite into the wood of the tie and prevent accidentalwithdrawal.

K represents the wire holder comprising a shank L, whichmay be plain orin the form of a nail, or have threads M out thereon to permit the sameto be threaded into the With the shank is formed a wrench hold N, in theform of a nut, and with this is formed the integral head 0 having aplurality of openings P through which pass the wires. This wire holderpasses through the hole H in the extension G of the spike, and isinsulated from said spike by the insulation Q. The head of the spike isprovided with extensions T, the sides of which diverge from the headtoward their outer ends as indicated at U.

In practice, the spike is driven into the tie and the wire holder thendriven or threaded into the tie through the hole H, said wire holderpreventing the raising of the extension portion of the spike, thuspreventing the spike from being gradually displaced by vibration.

In Figure 2, I have shown a slightly modified form of wire holder inwhich a number of arms R are formed integral with the wrench holdthereof, the outer ends of these arms as at 8, being adapted to hold thewires, said wires being brazed or in any other suitable manner fastenedthereto.

When using a wire holder of this description, the upper portion of thewires are unobstructed and may be used in place of the third rail onwhich a trolley may run,

DES

% masses Of course I do not Wish to be limited to rality of extensionsformed with the head, no the exact details of construction as herein thesides of said extensions diverging from shown as these may be variedwithin the the head toward their outer ends, and an limits of theappended claim without depart extension formed with the rear portion of5 in from the spirit of my invention. the head having a hole for thereception of aving thus fully described my invention, a wire holder. wvwhat I claim as new and useful is In testimony whereof, I have hereuntoaf- In a spike, a plurality of shanks,-a head fixed mysignature.

formed integral with said shanks, a plu- JAMES HARTLEY.

